As a coach it can be easy to get caught up in the details of our sport. We can spend more time with our coaching staff and student athletes than our own family, and we find ourselves weighed down with worry and becoming overworked in effort to keep our jobs. Some coaches are famous for the number of hours that they put in to secure a position. But in Matthew 6, Jesus gives us specific instructions not to worry about the details of life. This got my attention. Worrying about our jobs is like worrying about what we will eat or wear; they are all provided by God.

One of the perks of being a college student is a three month summer break from school, but as a collegiate volleyball player, summer isn’t a time to take it easy. The spring offseason is an opportunity to build muscle, run faster and increase verticals, but all that hard work is for nothing if I chose to be lazy all summer. When August rolls around I have to report for two-a-days, and my work over the summer will be evaluated by a stopwatch, measuring stick and bench press bar. I have to set goals to accomplish and improve over the summer, otherwise I will lose motivation and not perform at my highest level.

Despite not possessing any superb physical attributes, I discovered the Lord can still allow everyone to pursue their own path toward success. Not all men have been blessed with strong athletic physiques and growing up as a thin kid living on a cattle farm in western South Dakota, the odds were against me achieving any athletic success. However, the Lord had other plans for me!

A wide receiver or running back must make crisp cuts when running a route or hitting the hole. A soccer player needs to make crisp cuts when passing or dribbling. Basketball players must make quick, sure, crisp cuts when running plays or making moves to the hoop.

The word “crisp” has been defined as “notably sharp and clean-cut.” Should these athletes round their cuts, they would lose the ability to apply a successful move on their opponent.